If the hotel lobby had seemed somewhat dim, the stairwell William followed the attendant into was practically pitch-black, with no lighting at all.
Seeing William pause, the Black Rat Attendant explained:
"Please don't mind it. Most ratmen prefer dark and damp environments, so we haven't installed any lighting in the hotel's 'passageway' areas, leaving them in their original darkness.
There are many similar places inside Rat City. I hope you can get used to them.
Please follow me. Your room is on the fourth floor."
At that moment, Thirteen's voice came from behind them: "Teacher, do you need me to provide lighting?"
"It's fine. When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
William deliberately kept Thirteen's trump card hidden. After all, the candle doll, which had cost a full hundred thousand—and that was at a discounted price—and had been perfectly modified by the Duke's Merchant Guild, would undoubtedly be an important aid in exploring the Abyss.
In William's eyes, the 'Abyss' could very well be some sort of living creature. Releasing her candlelight ahead of time might alert it.
Besides, darkness of this level could be pierced through by William's own vision alone.
He had already caught sight of a problem with the 'seams' in the stairwell.
Dense black Rat Fur grew primarily along the edges of the walls and between the seams. With closer inspection, he discovered that the writhing Rat Fur seemed slightly thicker. Rather than hair, it looked more like rats' tails.
Whenever William's leather shoes stepped past, those tails automatically withdrew.
When they reached the fourth floor, the entire horizontal passageway was just as pitch-black. More rat tails grew along both sides of the corridor, with some even clinging to the walls.
At last, they arrived at the budget room at the end.
The lock was